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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27190069">I think I’ll collapse right here, thanks</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/NYWCgirl/pseuds/NYWCgirl'>NYWCgirl</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Whumptober 2020 [25]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>MacGyver (TV 2016)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bombs, Canon Typcial Violence, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Imprisonment, Rescue, Witch Hunt, the ghost - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 04:14:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,983</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27190069</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/NYWCgirl/pseuds/NYWCgirl</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Remember when the ghost said he hid a bomb somewhere for Mac? This is the story where Mac goes looking for it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Whumptober 2020 [25]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1946980</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Hurt/Comfort Bingo - Round 11, Whumptober 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>I think I’ll collapse right here, thanks</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This fic fills the ‘witch hunt’ square on my H/C Bingo card.</p><p>In current language, a ‘witch hunt’ metaphorically means an investigation that is usually conducted with much publicity, supposedly to uncover subversive activity, disloyalty but with the real purpose of intimidating opponents.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> ‘Matty, I want to take up some vacation time.’</p><p>‘Where are you planning on going?’</p><p>‘I was thinking on visiting China. It is a gorgeous country.’</p><p>‘It certainly is. Yeah, fill in the form and hand it to HR.’</p><p>‘Thanks Matty.’</p><p>‘I recon Jack doesn´t know?’</p><p>Mac turns back, ‘ no it came up spontaneously.’</p><p>‘And you just thought you would go sight-seeing in China.’</p><p>‘Yeah, that is it basically.</p><p>‘OK, have a good trip.’</p><p> </p><p>*  *  *</p><p> </p><p>Mac takes a seat in a small local restaurant. He is not sure what he ordered but it is delicious, although he has an idea that he probably doesn´t want to know what he is eating.</p><p>When a woman sits across from him he only looks up. She orders Tiger skin chicken feet, he knows she is the contact he is meeting. He greets her.</p><p>‘I didn´t know you spoke Mandarine.’</p><p>‘Well, it is rusty.’</p><p>‘I have the info you requested. She hands him a thumb drive.’</p><p>‘How can I repay you?’</p><p> ‘By getting rid of that bastard.’</p><p>‘Connor is dead. I’m searching for a bomb he made and left.’</p><p>The woman nods, ‘good riddance.’</p><p>The food arrives and she offers some to Mac, who politely declines. When they are done, they leave and say their goodbyes.</p><p>Mac makes a bee-line for his hotel. He needs to analyze the data as soon as possible. He was able to trace the trail all the way here so he needs to find where the bomb is located. Hopefully whatever is on the stick will make that possible.</p><p> </p><p>*  *  *</p><p> </p><p>Mac finally has an idea where to start looking for the bomb and he can only hope he is wrong. But all the clues point to the port of Shanghai. He would prefer to look for the bomb during the day but that would raise too much suspicion. So he waits until it is dark before he goes out to find it. And it is exactly where it is supposed to be. Not good. If the bomb goes off, it will cause irreparable damage and will cost innocent lives.</p><p>He needs to disarm it. Mac starts working. But the more time ticks by, Mac starts to realize the Ghost may have been right. This may be the bomb that is too well made. Maybe he has met his match. He needs to relax and think. He takes a deep breath and refocuses. He can do this, is he can just…</p><p>The moment someone pulls him back, he realizes the bomb will detonate. He shouts to find cover and can feel hands pull him away, dragging him when the bomb blows. The world disappears in noise and pain.</p><p> </p><p>*  *  *</p><p> </p><p>Mac returns to consciousness all at once. He gasps and tries to make sense what happened. His ears are ringing and he can´t seem to focus. What happened?</p><p>He tries to get up but for some reason he can´t. When he tries to takes a deep breathe, he starts coughing and pain shoots through him. All of a sudden there are hands digging him out. The tinnitus prevents him from hearing what the voices are saying around him. The hands pull him upright and the world spins. He empties his stomach before he is pulled away. He is more dragged that he actually walks, the world still not making much sense.</p><p>He wakes again when he is slapped in the face. When did he doze off. He squints against the bright lights that seem to be pointed at him.</p><p>A man starts shouting at him in Mandarin. And even though he can order his food, his Mandarin is bad. He understands words, American, spy, terrorist but he misses what they want from him. His head hurts too much to make the extra effort.</p><p>As sudden as everything started, the lights are turned off and he is pulled upright. With his hands cuffed behind his back, he almost face plants when the blood rushes from his brain. He realizes they are dragging him away. When they arrive at a cell door that is open, he is pulled in and unceremoniously dropped. With no way to catch himself, he hits the ground hard. His restraints are taken off and the men leave. When he hears the cell door close, he examines the cell. There is a matrass in the corner and he crawls towards it, uncaring that it looks filthy. Once he is on top of it, he curls into himself to preserve body heat. Exhausted he closes his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>*  *  *</p><p> </p><p>‘What do you want, Gerald?’</p><p>Matty knows it can’t be good, but she isn´t going to make it easy.</p><p>‘Is this your agent?’</p><p>Matty keeps a poker face, ‘I can neither confirm nor deny that this man is a Phoenix agent.’</p><p>Gerald stares at her, ‘Maybe it would be wise to cut your agent loose. He’s being accused of being a terrorist.’</p><p>‘Are we done here?’</p><p>‘Be careful Mathilda, don´t chew off more than you can swallow.’</p><p>‘Good night, Gerald.’</p><p>Matty goes back to her car and tells the driver to take her to the Phoenix. While they are driving, she calls Jack, telling him to get to the Phoenix as soon as possible.</p><p>By the time they enter the underground parking, she sees Jack’s GTO already parked. Jack is already pacing in the war room when she arrives.</p><p>‘Did you find him?’ is the first thing out of his mouth.</p><p>She whites the windows before projecting her tablet on the wall screen.</p><p>‘This feed was sent two hours ago.’</p><p>She presses play. It shows Mac sitting in a chair in an interrogation room. The men around him are talking Chinese and wear Chinese uniforms.</p><p>‘What are they saying?’</p><p>‘They accuse Mac for being a terrorist. The bomb that went off in the harbor of Shanghai? According to them, it is his doing.’</p><p>‘Mac would never do that.’</p><p>‘We know that, all they know is that a bomb went off and a foreigner was found at the scene of the crime.’</p><p>‘Do they have his name?’</p><p>‘Best guess is that they don´t, because there hasn´t been made an official claim.’</p><p>‘Good, that is good. We need to go get him.’</p><p>‘You are booked on a commercial flight, you cannot use Phoenix property for this. Remember, you will have to get there before they can find out his real name. Hopefully, his alias holds up.’</p><p>‘They will turn this into a witch hunt, Matty. They will use him for their propaganda.’</p><p>‘I know Jack, so go get our boy!’</p><p> </p><p>*  *  *</p><p> </p><p>Jack has been scouting the area of the building where they are keeping mac. He will never be able to get in there undetected. He can pass for a lot of nationalities, but not Asian. He needs help. He will need toc all in a favor.</p><p> </p><p>*  *  *</p><p> </p><p>Mac groans when he moves to get his food. The meager meal has been pushed through the slot in the door. It is a handful of rice with some salted fish. His head still hurts and his bruises have bruises, but he needs all the calories he can get. He needs to stay sharp so he can think of a way to get out of here. He clearly is concussed and the beatings during his interrogation aren´t helping. Fighting his nausea, he eats the small ration. There is a bang on the door and he quickly shoves the empty bowl through the slot. In return he gets a cup with hot tea. He drinks it as hot as he can, not spilling a drop. By the time they return, he gives the empty mug back. He learned the hard way not to keep anything. He grimaces at the memory.</p><p>He lays back down on the filthy matrass, he is grossed out but everything is better than laying on the equally filthy cold concrete floor. He dozes, trying to get his headaches under control.</p><p>He wakes when the door opens with a loud bang.</p><p>Two men enter, dragging him to another interrogation. He tries to get his feet under him but they keep going. Once in the room he learned to dread, he is pushed on his knees. That is new, but when his head is pulled backwards, he can see there is a camera; Not good, whatever they want, it can´t be good. But there is not much he can do. The interrogation starts…</p><p> </p><p>*  *  *</p><p> </p><p>‘Desi, I need to get the kid out and you are the only one I trust with that task.’</p><p>‘Seriously Jack, the kid is accused of terrorism, I can´t just bust him out.’</p><p>‘No, we need to get them to take him to a hospital.’</p><p>‘Killing him won´t work. The prison has its own morgue, so we won´t get him out that way.’</p><p>‘Hospital it is then.’</p><p>‘I need to find out if I can get to him, isn´t it easier to bribe one of the guards?’</p><p>‘I’m not sure, I…’</p><p>‘No problem, we need to find someone who is good in prosthetics.’</p><p>‘Leave that to me, I know a guy.’</p><p>Jack makes a phone call and Bozer is on his way.</p><p> </p><p>*  *  *</p><p> </p><p>Mac once again crawls to the door. His last beating left him with cracked ribs. His daily portion of rice is shoved through the slot and he quickly eats it, not spilling a grain. Pushing the bowl back, het gests a mug with lukewarm tea, which he also gulps down, putting it outside the slot and crawling back to his matrass.</p><p>Quickly he starts to feel off, the feeling increasing and he tries to get up. Something is wrong, he needs help. He crawls to the door and starts pounding it, by now he realizes something is really wrong. His vision is greying out and the moment he thinks nobody is coming, the cell door opens. The last thing he hears and sees is panic with his guards.</p><p> </p><p>*  *  *</p><p> </p><p>Once Bozer fitted them with their disguises, he flew back home. Jack didn´t want to endanger him, more than he already was.</p><p>The moment the call comes in, Riley tells the team to go. They have done this before, they know what to do. Jack and Desi drive up to the prison. Bozer’s prosthetics are flawless and they quickly and efficiently transfer a seizing Mac into the ambulance. Desi asks one of the guards to accompany her in the back, faking to be scared of the white criminal. The guard gladly obliges and gets in the back of the ambulance. Desi takes her time stabilizing Mac  and injecting an antidote. When she is sure Mac is going to be OK, she quickly takes out the guard. They drive to a private airstrip where Mac is transferred to the jet. They make sue the guard is safe and will be found before getting on the jet and taking off.</p><p>Jack takes the first aid kit and takes the pre-filled IV-bags with glucose and saline. The kids needs fluids. He has always been lean, but now he is downright skinny. His vitals are steady so Mac is hopefully recuperating. Next he takes two cans of coke and a couple of sandwiches from the cooler and hands half to Desi.</p><p>‘Thanks Desi, I owe you.’</p><p>‘You’re welcome Dalton. So this is the kid, hmm?’</p><p>‘Yeah.’ Jack smiles proudly.</p><p>‘So what are you going to do next?’</p><p>‘I don´t know. I… We will see. Get the kid to safety.’</p><p>‘You can’t enter the US with him.’</p><p>‘I know. I’ll figure it out. My first priority is getting him back to health and then we will see how we can proof his innocence. You and Bozer need to return to the Phoenix.’</p><p>‘And you?’</p><p>‘I’ll take care of the kid and contact you when this witch hunt is over.’</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
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